Anthony Richardson draws comparisons to former Vikings after epic NFL Combine performance
The Minnesota Vikings are still looking for a succession plan for Kirk Cousins and if you believe in fate, Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson might be destined to become a Viking.
Richardson destroyed the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis on Saturday afternoon, posting a 10.0 relative athletic score (RAS) that measures a prospect's athletic ability based on their height, weight and historical data on a scale of 1-10.
At 6-4 and 244 pounds, Richardson solidified himself as an elite quarterback prospect, showing off his arm with a series of deep throws.
Richardson's display of athleticism continued when he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.44 seconds. According to Stathead, it's the fastest time recorded by a quarterback at the combine since 2000, but other quarterbacks have recorded similar times at their Pro Day, including Justin Fields's time of 4.46 seconds prior to the 2021 draft.
Richardson saved his best performance for the jumping events as his 126-inch broad jump was tied for third by a quarterback since 2000 with Josh Portis and Cam Newton (2011). Richardson's 40.5-inch vertical jump was also the highest by a quarterback in the modern era, surpassing Portis's 40-inch mark from 2011.
Former Viking and current KFAN analyst Ben Leber was one of several to question how much leaping ability matters in a quarterback but Richardson's explosiveness and ability to hurdle linebackers make him a big play waiting to happen.
Put everything together and Richardson's performance was one for the ages. According to Kent Lee Platte's data going back to 1987, Richardson is the first quarterback ever to put together a perfect RAS score of 10.0.
While Richardson edged Newton, who had a 9.99 RAS score in 2011, he also compared favorably to another former Viking – Daunte Culpepper.
Combine testing should always be taken with a grain of salt as draft busts Marcus Mariota (9.97), Josh McCown (9.95) and Tyree Jackson (9.94) are the next three names on the list. It's also worth noting that Richardson also compares favorably to former Viking Joe Webb, who posted a RAS of 9.99 while working out as a wide receiver.
There are other questions about Richardson's skills, including his ability to process, his mechanics and his accuracy. Richardson completed just 54 percent of his passes during his career at Florida, which is significantly lower than Culpepper (65.7) and Newton (65.4) during their collegiate careers.
But former Vikings general manager Rick Spielman is one advocate of Richardson's ability, saying during a CBS Sports interview that he believes Richardson is a better thrower than Newton was coming out of college.
To Spielman's credit, he NFL has shown more of an interest in tools than college results. Josh Allen posted a 56.2 percent career completion rate at Wyoming before posting a 62.5 percent completion rate – and 65.2 percent over the past three seasons – with the Buffalo Bills.
Those tools have apparently enticed the Vikings as KSTP's Darren Wolfson reported that the Vikings had a formal interview with Richardson at the combine, but his performance in testing may have driven his stock so high it might be impossible for the Vikings to trade up to get him from the 23rd overall pick.
